One of the most unlikely franchises to reach cult status in the 2000s was Victor Salva’s Jeepers Creepers. The first film came out in 2001 and starred Justin Long in the lead role. Though it wasn’t a huge critical success, the film made $59 million at the box office against a $10 million budget, leading to a sequel quickly getting greenlit. Jeepers Creepers 2 came out in 2003 and while it was critically panned compared to the first film, it was a huge box office hit.
The film made about $120 million on a $17 million budget. Though Jeepers Creepers 2 isn’t the best film in the franchise, it does contain one of its most memorable scenes. The opening scene on the bus that involves the Creeper murdering a group of cheerleaders and a basketball team was as memorable a scene as there was from a horror movie in the early 2000s.
With Halloween on everybody’s mind, Jeepers Creepers 2 is starting to find new life on streaming. In fact, it’s broken the top 10 most streamed films on Hulu, per Flix Patrol. Clearly, many are revisiting the film during this spooky season. While Jeepers Creepers 2 was a huge hit, it took over a decade for a third film to come out. Jeepers Creepers 3 was released direct-to-DVD and didn’t find nearly the same success as the first two films. For the first time, a director other than Salva will take a stab at the franchise. Timo Vuorensola is set to release Jeepers Creepers: Reborn later this year.